Bringing the Co-operative Spirit Into Play
Blanketball

It's spring Ä the perfect time to get outdoors and to play one of
the best known of all co-operative games.

Blanketball can be as simple as two people holding a beach towel
and bouncing a beachball on it. If you bring in two more people
and another towel, you can start a giant game of catch.

More people can play if you use an old blanket or bedspread, a
rug, a piece of heavy plastic or an old tent to bounce a beach
ball, a balloon, or whatever kind of ball you have on hand.

Everyone works together to toss the ball into the air and catch
it in the blanket. Once you get good at that, try keeping a
second ball in the air. Really ambitious groups can take up
juggling!

You can also set up teams to pass the ball back and forth, or one
team can toss it up and duck out of the way while the other team
dashes in to catch it with their blanket. For a more challenging
game, try keeping two or three balls in the air.

Try blanket-ballyball. Bring in a volleyball net and pass the
ball back and forth over the net. Each time the ball is tossed
and caught, a point is scored for the entire group. This game
lets everyone on a team work together to toss or catch the ball.
As well, both teams must work together in order to score.

The best part of playing blanketball is that if it starts to
rain, you can use the blanket as a tent.  


- Maureen Woodall
From April 1995 VICHA Newsletter (Newsletter of the Vancouver
Island Co-operative Housing Association).

Co-operative games allow everyone to take part without feeling
left out, without feeling like losers, and without hurting or
getting hurt. If you would like to share a co-operative game with
us, please e-mail Maureen Woodall: wj045@freenet.victoria.bc.ca